A simple fish pie

I love a fish pie, and now that the weather has turned colder again it seemed the perfect dish to warm and comfort.  It occurred to me when I was planning this that it would be a perfect dish to commemorate Good Friday; the fish having been associated with Christianity from the very beginning. 

As a mark of the significance and solemnity of Good Friday I thought a simple fish pie was better than a celebratory one stuffed with fish, scallops, prawns and mussels;  but you could certainly add any or all of those if you wished.   

When I make a fish pie I usually use a mix of white fish (cod or hake), a salmon fillet and a hard boiled egg to eke out the fish a little.  

Depending on the fish you are using, this is quite a frugal way to stretch a piece of fish a little bit further.  I often make it with smoked cod too, which makes a very tasty dinner. 

The simple one I made today, to serve two people, used : 

1 small cod loin

1 small salmon fillet

1 hard boiled egg

1 bunch of parsley

½ pint of milk

1tb flour

1 knob of butter

1 small bunch of parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

½ cup of peas

1 or 2 oz of grated cheddar

2 medium/large potatoes (depending on the size of your dish), boiled and mashed with a little butter. 

Firstly, poach the cod and salmon.  I always do this in the oven as it stops the house smelling of fish.  Simply place the two fillets in a deep dish and cover with water, cover the dish with foil and poach at 200^oC(400^oF/Gas mark 6) for 25 to 30 minutes. 

As you will be making a white sauce for the fish I find it helpful to get everything ready beforehand so that I can concentrate on making the sauce.  So pop the peas in the microwave to cook for a few minutes and then set aside.  Wash and chop the parsley and set it aside and peel and chop the egg, then set aside. 

When the fish is poached, take it out of the oven and cut into bite-sized pieces. 

For the pie, simply add the flour, butter and milk to a pan and place over a low heat.  Keep stirring the sauce and bring it to a gentle simmer so that it will thicken.  Keep stirring/beating the sauce so that there is no chance of lumps forming.  When the sauce is thickened to the right consistency, season to taste with salt and pepper and then add the rest of the pie ingredients, stirring gently so that you don’t break everything up.  

Turn the pie filling into your dish and then spoon on the mashed potato and spread out with a fork.  Finish the pie with a generous helping of grated cheddar cheese. 

Pop the pie into the oven for 20 minutes at 200^oC(400^oF/Gas mark 6). 

You can prepare the pie ahead of time if you wish, in which case you should make sure that either everything is hot, or cold when the pie is assembled (to avoid the risk of food poisoning).  From cold it will need approximately 30 to 40 minutes in the oven, but the cooking time depends on the type of dish you are using, the depth of the pie inside the dish and the temperature it was when it went into the oven.   A medium enamel pie dish, at room temperature will take 35 minutes, the small one pictured below took 25 minutes.

Fried cabbage with leeks and bacon

This is what the Italians would call Cucina Povera – poor cooking.  A very frugal lunch indeed; it takes next to no time to put together and uses only one pan! 

I based this on a dish from my very favourite cookbook, Delia Smith’s Complete Cookery Course but adapted it to use one of the leeks I had in the fridge – baby leeks are selling for coppers here at the moment so I always have a couple in the fridge! 

The quantity given below served one person, with bread and butter on the side.  Although you could, as Delia suggests, serve it with sausages and/or a jacket potato. 

For one person I used : 

½ a cabbage (I had Savoy in the fridge so used that but any cabbage would work)

1 baby leek

1 knob of butter (approx ½ oz or thereabouts)

3 rashers of bacon 

Firstly halve the leek lengthways and wash it thoroughly under running water.   Slice the halves of the leek up, then snip the bacon into pieces approximately the same size as the leek. 

Melt the butter, add the leek and soften for a few minutes before adding the bacon.  Cook for 5 or 6 minutes until the bacon is browning a little. 

While the bacon and leek are cooking, shred the cabbage and rinse well under running water.  When the bacon is starting to brown add the drained cabbage to the pan (don’t worry if it is a little wet) and season with salt and pepper.  Pop a lid on the pan and give it 5 minutes cooking time.  Remove the lid and give everything a good stir and let it cook for a further 5 or 6 minutes until the cabbage is cooked. 

The original recipe can be found here if anyone would like to try that one too http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/party-food/accompaniment/fried-cabbage-with-bacon.html

Steak and mushroom pie

Who doesn’t like a pie!  Hubby loves my pies and this is one of his favourites.  It's very economical as it uses the cheapest cuts of beef, and the mushrooms will stretch the meat to make a delicious and filling pie. 

I like to make something like this the day before we want it as I always find that the flavours develop on keeping. 

For two of us I used: 

1 big onion

1lb stewing beef (clod, shin, skirt etc)

½ lb mushrooms

1tb flour

1 pint beef stock

1tsp Worcestershire sauce

1tsp mushroom ketchup (optional, if you don’t have it leave it out)

1tsp tomato puree

2 small sprigs of thyme

1 small sprig of rosemary, finely chopped

1 bayleaf

2 tb olive oil

1 pack of flaky (puff) pastry (you can make your own but frankly it isn’t worth the faff!  You won’t use it all and the leftovers can be frozen for another time.)  If you can't get flaky/puff pastry then shortcrust pastry will be fine.

1 egg, beaten to glaze the pie.  You could replace the egg with milk, or even water if you don’t want to waste a good egg as a pastry glaze! 

Firstly, dice the beef and brown in 1tb of olive oil.  Remove to a plate when browned. 

While the beef is browning peel and dice the onion, then brown in the second tablespoon of olive oil. 

While the onion is cooking, clean a third of the mushrooms and chop fairly finely.  Add to the pan with the onions and sautee for a few minutes.  Return the beef to the onions and mushrooms and toss around to mix everything together. 

Add the flour to the beef, onions and mushrooms and mix thoroughly.  Gradually add the beef stock, stirring to eliminate any risk of lumps.  Add the Worcestershire sauce, mushroom ketchup (if using), tomato puree and herbs and mix in.  Bring to a gentle simmer and then cover. 

Cook in the oven at 150^oC (300^oF/gas mark 2) for 2½ to 3 hours. 

After the first hour, clean and slice the remainder of the mushrooms and add to the casserole, stirring to give it all a good mixing. 

The pie I am making is a lidded pie, which is to say it just has pastry on the top, not on the bottom.   

If you are making the pie filling ahead of time, allow it to cool completely before you add the pastry lid.  If you are making the filling to cook straight away you can add the pastry lid now.

To make it up, roll out a piece of flaky pastry about 2” or 3” larger than your pie dish.  Cut the extra pastry and use to line the edges of your pie tin.  Brush with beaten egg then add the pie filling to the tin.  Lay the lid over the dish and trim to fit.  Brush with beaten egg and cook at 180^oC for 20 - 25 minutes (30 – 35 from cold), until the pastry is golden.

Baked ham with parsley sauce

I vividly remember the first time I ever tasted ham with parsley sauce, it was with my Grandparents!   Neither of my parents like parsley sauce so  I had never heard of it before.  Then one day I was in my Grandparents’ house and she dished this up.  One taste and I was lost!  Every time I make it now it reminds me of those lovely days with my Grandparents. 

I bought a small uncooked bacon (ham) joint, about 2¼ lbs in weight.  I soaked the joint overnight in a bowl of water to remove any saltiness from the preserving. 

When you are ready to cook the joint simply pop it into a roasting tin, cover with foil and bake in a low oven.  I cooked mine at 150^oC (300^oF/gas mark 2) for 2½ hours. 

The parsley sauce method I use is an all-in-one method that saves a lot of faff and lumps!   I have a really handy small whisk that makes light work of sauces. 

For the parsley sauce : 

1tb plain flour

1 generous tsp butter

½ pint of cold milk

Salt and pepper to taste

2tb chopped curly parsley 

My handy little whisk

Simply place the flour, butter and milk together in a pan and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring from time to time.  As it begins to simmer stir constantly to stop any lumps from forming (if any do form just beat them out with a small whisk).  Stir the sauce as it thickens and turn the heat right down.  The sauce will need to cook for at least 5 minutes, and preferably longer to cook out the flour.  Season to taste and add the parsley for the last few minutes to flavour the sauce. 

I always like this best with boiled potatoes and broad beans (fava beans).  Sadly, broad weren’t available this week so I had frozen peas instead! 

From my Grandmother’s kitchen to yours – I hope you enjoy this little taste of Wales!

Any leftover sauce can be frozen and would be really lovely served over some poached fish.

Bubble & Squeak

I’m (once again!) faintly embarrassed at writing a recipe, such as it is, for something so simple, but I’m sharing this recipe for the benefit of my American friends, who may not have heard of it! 

Bubble and squeak was a traditional supper here in the UK, back in the days when people burned up the calories during the daytime and could afford (calorie-wise) such a big meal after a big Sunday dinner.  I think the tradition varies from area to area, but in my family it’s made up with whatever leftover vegetables there are from the roast dinner; usually potatoes, cabbage, carrots, peas but is literally made up from whatever assortment of cooked vegetables you have.   

Made with Colcannon mashed potatoes

I often make Colcannon mashed potatoes (with leeks and cabbage) and this is a lovely way to use up any leftovers.  I like this so much that I always cook surplus vegetables specifically to make bubble and squeak the next day (or the day after that!).  When you are working it’s such a simple meal to put together when you come home.

The ‘recipe’ is difficult to quantify other than to say you need enough cooked vegetables for the number of people you are feeding.  As I said above, it is literally made from whatever you have to hand.  I’ve used an assortment from : 

Potatoes (boiled, mashed or roasted – it makes no difference)

Cabbage

Brussels sprouts

Parsnip

Swede (rutabaga)

Peas

Beans

Leeks 

All you need to do is chop up (coarsely or finely, it’s up to you) the vegetables that you are using. 

Made with roast potatoes, carrots, cabbage and beans

Heat a little oil, beef dripping or goose fat in a frying pan and when the oil is hot add the vegetables.  Toss around the pan with a wooden spoon or spatula.  You want bits of the vegetables to brown so don’t keep it constantly moving, just enough to stop it catching and burning.

Serve with leftover meat, ham or bacon.  A generous puddle of brown sauce never goes amiss either!

Kedgeree

I first tasted this back in the early 70’s, when my Aunt, who was a very adventurous cook for the time, made it for us.  It was a revelation as, in those days, my Mum’s repertoire was quite restricted.  She’s what you would call “a good plain British cook”; a great cook inside her comfort zone.  I digress!  I had never tasted anything like this before and it has remained a favourite ever since. 

It’s a classic Anglo-Indian Victorian breakfast dish, although we’ve always had it as our main meal!  This is my version of it, which leaves out the curry powder!  

For two people : 

1 large smoked cod or haddock fillet

1 cup of rice

½ cup of peas

2 hard boiled eggs

1 small bunch of parsley

1 generous knob of butter

Salt to taste 

Firstly, pop the fish fillets into an oven-proof dish, cover with water and cover the dish with foil.  Place in the oven to poach at 200^oC(400^oF/Gas mark 6) for 25 to 30 minutes. 

While the fish is poaching, cook the rice, adding the peas for the last 10 to 15 minutes. 

Peel the eggs, chopping one coarsely and slicing the other into quarters.  Wash and chop the parsley. 

When the fish is cooked, remove from the poaching water to drain, and then flake into bite sized pieces. 

Strain the cooked rice and peas and return to the pan, adding a generous knob of butter.  Stir so that the butter melts and then add the chopped egg, parsley and the cooked flaked fish.  Stir gently so that you don’t break up the egg or the fish any further.  Decant to a serving dish (or onto plates) and arrange the quarters of egg on the top.

I would like to dedicate this dish to my Auntie Joan, a great cook and a wonderful inspiration.  Thank you!

Sausages braised in Guinness, in a Yorkshire pudding.

My hubby absolutely loves sausages, in any way, shape or form!  I always feel that sausages are at their best made into a gravy dinner, with what we in Wales call ‘potch’ (swede (rutabaga) and potato mashed together) and lots of fried caramelised onions.   

One of my favourite way of serving them is braised in red wine as you have a delicious gravy to go with them, and I often serve them in a Yorkshire pudding as one of my ‘dinners in a Yorkshire Pudding’.  You do need mashed potato with such delicious gravy so we usually either have ‘potch’ or colcannon (mashed potato with cabbage and leeks). 

For today though I decided to experiment with cooking them in Guinness.  Hubby loved it, as an experiment it was a resounding success! 

For two people : 

6 good meaty sausages (I like Cumberland)

1tb olive oil

1 good knob of butter

2 onions

½ tsp sugar

1tb flour

1 (440ml/half pint) can of Guinness

¼ pint of beef stock (½ a cup)

1tsp mushroom ketchup (optional, leave it out if you can’t find it/don’t have it)

1tsp Worcestershire sauce

1tsp tomato puree (or ketchup if you don’t keep puree in the house)

1 or 2 sprigs thyme

1 bayleaf

Salt and pepper to taste 

Firstly brown the sausages all over and then set aside. 

Melt the butter and olive oil together in a large pan.  Peel and cut the onions into thin half-moon slices and add to the oil and butter mixture, add the sugar and some ground black pepper and brown gently for 10 – 15 minutes.  As this is quite a simple recipe in terms of ingredients, you do want the onions to brown to get the best flavour into the dish. 

Add the flour and stir into the onions.  Gradually add the Guinness, stirring and scraping up any bits from around the pan.  Add the Worcestershire sauce, mushroom ketchup, beef stock and tomato puree/ketchup and stir.  Add a seasoning of salt and pepper, the herbs and the sausages and bring to a gentle simmer. 

Cover the pan and pop in a low oven (150^oC/275^o F/gas mark 1) for 3 ½ hours.  You want to have a nice gravy with this so if it seems to dry out at all just add a little more boiling water (half a cup or so). 

To make the Yorkshire Pudding I used : 

1 x 8” sandwich tin 

3oz plain flour

1 egg

3 fl oz milk

2 fl oz water

Salt and pepper to taste 

Place the flour in a mixing bowl and season, make a well in the centre and add the egg, milk and water.  Beat well so that there are no lumps whatsoever in the mixture.  Traditionally it’s made the night before and left to sit, the longer you can leave the batter mixture the better. 

When you are ready, grease the sandwich tin well and heat in the oven (it needs to be very hot), pour the batter mixture into the tin and cook for 25 to 30 minutes at 220^oC (425^oF/gas mark 7). 

I made the Yorkshire first and just re-heated in the microwave when we were ready to eat. We had one between us as we had potatoes as well.

This was a very substantial meal, so don’t plan on doing anything more than resting your stomach afterwards!

Victoria Sandwich

There was some interest on my Facebook page so I thought I’d write a quick blog post to share this simple glory with those of you who have never tried it before. 

There’s a simple rule of thumb when making Victoria sandwich (sponge) cakes and that is for every egg you use, you need 2oz each of flour, sugar and butter.   

As a general guideline, I usually make a four egg mixture (which uses 8oz each of flour, sugar and butter) for a nice deep sponge in two 7” diameter sandwich tins. 

To make a cake the size pictured I used : 

4 large eggs

8oz caster sugar (superfine I think in the States)

8oz butter

8oz self raising flour (cake flour)

1tsp vanilla extract 

To fill the cake :

Sandwich Tins

Small pot of double cream (heavy cream)

3 or 4 tsp raspberry jam 

Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy and then beat in the egg, gradually and then add the vanilla extract.  Add the flour and mix in until everything is combined. 

Grease and line two 7” sandwich tins and divide the filling between them. 

Cook in a pre-heated oven at 170^oC (325^oF/Gas 3) for approximately 30 minutes. 

Keep a close eye on them and test after 30 minutes with a skewer.  If it comes out clean then the cakes are done. If not give them a little longer but watch them closely.

Leave to cool in the tins for a few minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

Soften the jam a little in the microwave (it only needs seconds) before spreading over one of the sponges and then cover with the thickly whipped cream.  Turn the other sponge onto the top of the filling to sandwich, and dredge the top with icing sugar (confectioner’s/powdered sugar). 

To make it extra special I often add whole raspberries to the filling too.   

(You could use strawberry jam and use sliced or halved strawberries in the middle) 

For cricket teas I often make a five egg sponge (10oz each butter, sugar and flour) in one of these (10" x 6") oblong tins.  When cold cut the sponge in half and then split the halves through the middle.  Cut each of the four pieces into smaller squares (I think I used to get something like 30 from this tin) and spread with whipped cream and some fresh fruit – sliced strawberries or whole raspberries go down very well!

Sausages braised in red wine with Colcannon mash

Bangers and mash is a really classic British dish, and as a treat for my hubby, and to make it a bit special since it’s Saturday I decided to braise them in red wine.   

Colcannon mash is a traditional Irish potato dish, very simple when you know how, but so delicious that I knew I’d want to share the recipe with my friends across the pond! 

For two people you need : 

6 good meaty sausages (Cumberland are my favourite)

2 rashers of bacon

6 or 8 small shallots

6 or 8 small mushrooms

1 clove of garlic

½ tb flour

1tb olive oil

½ bottle of red wine

2 bayleaves

1 sprig of thyme

Salt and pepper to taste 

For the Colcannon : 

2 big potatoes

1small leek

½ a cabbage (I like savoy cabbage or spring greens best)

2tsp butter 

Firstly brown the sausages all over and set aside. 

Dice the bacon and brown in a little olive oil and then set aside with the sausages. 

Toss the shallots around in the olive oil and sauté until they are golden, adding the chopped garlic for the last few minutes.  (It isn’t necessary to use shallots, I just had some here that I wanted to use up.  You can peel and slice or dice a large onion instead.) 

Return the bacon to the shallots in the pan and add the flour, stirring to scrape up any sticky bits on the bottom of the pan.  Gradually add the red wine, stirring well to eliminate any lumps. 

Add the sausages, mushrooms and herbs to the pan and season to taste.  Pop a lid on the pan and cook in a medium oven (150^oC) for two and a half hours.  Check on it from time to time, you want to have a nice gravy with the sausages so if it starts to look at all dry add a little beef stock (or boiling water to which you have added a little Worcestershire sauce) to thin it out a little. 

For the potatoes, peel and cut into smallish chunks and boil.  Shred the cabbage and steam over the potatoes until cooked through.   

Cut the leek in half lengthways and rinse well, then shred and sauté in 1tsp butter, adding the cabbage once it has been steamed. 

When the potatoes are cooked, mash them with the other tsp of butter, then add the cabbage and leek mixture and mix well together with a wooden spoon.

Rice Pudding

We’ve gone all retro here today!  Hubby doesn’t have any cricket today (outdoor during the summer, indoor during the winter – it rules our lives!) so I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to make a proper Sunday Dinner.  I’ve bought a huge chicken, so that we’ll have plenty of leftovers!  Chicken soup and chicken pie here we come! 

Since we’ve stepped back in time to the 50’s, I thought I’d also make hubby a rice pudding.  This is a real taste of our childhood.  My grandmother used to make the best rice puddings, popped in the Rayburn to cook quietly until it turned into a dish of creamy unctuousness. 

This is how I make them today.  The quantities given below will provide four sensible servings.  I’d like to say we have leftovers for tomorrow ...... but we don’t! 

2oz short grain pudding rice

2tb sugar

Small knob of butter

Grated nutmeg

1 – 1 ½ pints of full cream milk* 

* I often add a small pot of single cream to the milk to make this extra creamy – it’s an occasional treat after all! 

Simply place all the ingredients into a buttered dish and bake in a low to medium oven for 2 – 2 ½ hours.  Stir two or three times during the first hour but leave for the remainder of the cooking time so that a lovely brown nutmeggy skin forms.  I always add a second grating of nutmeg after the final stir. 

You can cook this in the same oven as the Sunday roast, just pop it into the bottom of the oven. 

I serve it as it is, but some people like a spoonful of jam added.  The choice is yours!

N.B.  Pop your dish on an old baking tray to cook- I've lost count of the number of times mine have boiled over and it makes a terrible mess.  A baking tray contains the mess!

Kidneys in Gravy

This is a lovely frugal dish – I bought the kidneys from a butcher for 37p each.  Yes, you can actually buy meat for pence, still!!  Kidneys have so much flavour that you’d never believe that they cost as little as they do.  If you think of the flavour in a steak and kidney pie, all that richness comes from the kidney.  For the cost of an onion, a couple of potatoes, a stock cube and the kidneys you have an absolutely delicious meal. 

This is another of my one-pot-wonders – why make washing up! 

For two people you need : 

4 - 6 lambs kidneys

1 medium onion

2 medium/large potatoes

1tb chopped fresh rosemary

1 tb flour

1 pint lamb stock, with a dash of Worcestershire sauce added

Halve the kidneys, cutting out the fatty core and rinse well under running water – we all know what kidneys process! 

Cut the halves into half again and toss the in the flour. 

Peel and slice the onion into thin half moons.  Peel and slice the potatoes thinly. 

Place a layer of potato at the bottom of an oven dish, season with salt and pepper, add a layer of onion, half the kidneys and a sprinkling of rosemary.  Add another layer of potatoes, season, then onion, kidneys and rosemary again, and any flour left from the kidneys.  Pour over the stock, to come ¾ of the way up the dish – or a little more if you prefer a thinner gravy.  Finally add a layer of potato and cover loosely with foil.   

Cook in a medium oven for an hour and a half, or a little longer depending on how thickly you have sliced the potatoes.  I cooked mine at 180 degrees C.  Uncover for the last half an hour to brown the top layer of potatoes. 

Serve with a green vegetable alongside. 

My hubby is far too fussy to eat kidneys so I made a separate dish for him, replacing the kidney with cooked beef.  If someone in your household won’t eat kidney you could do the same there.  Actually, if you fancy trying it but are a bit unsure, just make enough for one person (with two or three kidneys) and try it out.  You could even make it with kidneys and cooked beef – steak and kidney! 

I hope you like it.  I love it, the kidneys have so much flavour – and offal contains lots of iron too.  It’s practically a vitamin!

Cream Horns

I have to confess up front, these were bought not made!  Hubby and I are supposed to be dieting but we fancied a treat and I reasoned that by the time I’d made and cooked them, bought the cream to go in them it would be (a) more costly and (b) too tempting to stop at just one!  I threw caution to the wind and bought them instead!! 

These are a real taste of childhood for us.  We were both brought up in mining villages, and both our grandmothers had a huge influence on our upbringing.  These cream horns were very fashionable during the 50’s/60’s and only ever made an appearance in my family at the most auspicious family celebrations.  My grandmother used to make them and I can remember staring at the plate for hours, mouth watering in anticipation!  Many years later she handed her cream horn tins on to me for me to make them.  Needless to say, I still have them, 25 years on, and some of them date back to the 50’s!   

Making them is a doddle and nothing could be simpler. 

All you need for the horns themselves is a batch of flaky (puff) pastry.  

The filling is simply jam and double/whipping cream. 

Roll out the pastry and cut into long strips. 

Well grease the cream horn tins and wind the strips of pastry (one per tin) around the horn.  Lay on a greased baking sheet and continue until you have used all your tins.  These can be batch cooked and freeze well. 

Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with caster sugar.  Or, just brush with beaten egg and dust with icing sugar when you serve them. 

Either way, pop into a hot oven until the pastry is cooked. 

Carefully remove the cooked pastry from the tins and cool on a wire rack.  

If you only have a few tins keep cooking in batches until you have made enough or run out of pastry. 

To finish the horns you simply drop a teaspoon of jam into the bottom of the pastry horn, and then either pipe or spoon in whipped cream. 

And that’s it!

Lakeland Ltd are now stocking cream horn tins if you want to try making these. 

Pan Haggerty

Pan Haggerty is a wonderfully frugal yet tasty dish from the North of England, specifically the mining towns of Northumberland.  It comes from a time of poverty when families knew how to feed themselves for little cost.  Consequently it’s a wonderfully simple dish to prepare, although somewhat calorie laden – a cheap filler! 

Traditionally it was cooked on the range in a large frying pan, cooked on one side and then inverted and cooked on the other.  These days I layer everything up in an oven-proof dish and cook it in the oven simply out of convenience.  Also, I add a layer of ham to the dish, which isn’t traditional! 

When my aunt was a newly-wed, her mother’s advice for her was to always keep bacon, eggs, cheese and potatoes in the house – then you always have the wherewithal to put a meal on the table.  As a woman who reared 16 surviving children on a miner’s wage, I take her advice as golden!  I have to say, they are things that I always keep to hand in my own kitchen.  I never, ever run out of cheese or eggs!! 

To make this lovely dish, for two people you need: 

2 medium/large potatoes (depending on appetite), peeled and sliced fairly thinly

1 onion, peeled and sliced

6-8 oz grated cheese, I used a mix of Cheddar and Caerphilly cheese

Salt and pepper 

Optional, 2 or 3 thick slices of ham 

Well butter your oven dish and add a layer of potatoes, season well with salt and pepper and add a layer of onion and then cheese, another layer of potatoes, seasoning, onion and cheese.  Keep layering up like this, finishing with a layer of potatoes, dot with butter and add a final generous sprinkling of cheese. 

If you are adding the ham just tear the slices roughly and add with the onion and cheese layers. 

Pop into a hot oven, 200^oC for approximately 45 minutes.  The actual cooking time will vary and depends on how thickly you have sliced the potatoes.  It could take an hour if they are thick.   

If you have a hubby like mine who won’t eat cheese you can do what I do and make the pan haggerty in one-serve dishes and make a separate one without the cheese for hubby – in that case I’d add a little vegetable or chicken stock, or even milk. 

This is a VERY calorie laden dish so if you wish do cut down on the amount of cheese you use.  I was very generous with the cheese!